Phnom Penh, 1 June 2019 – We, the undersigned civil society groups, express serious concern regarding the recent and ongoing judicial harassment of former Cambodia National Rescue Party (“CNRP”) elected officials and members through baseless arrests, summonses, and detentions across multiple provinces. We urge the Royal Government of Cambodia to immediately cease the harassment of [ Read more ]

Nepal: Amendment Bill of National Human Rights Commission Act will weaken the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (Kathmandu/Bangkok, 24 May 2019) – The Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) expresses its deep concern over a proposed bill to amend the National Human Rights Commission Act 2012 (NHRC Act 2012). The Government of [ Read more ]

Protect the Environment, Local Communities and Human Rights in Mongolia – Summary Statement of the Fact Finding Mission of FORUM-ASIA and CHRD to Mongolia The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) together with its member organisation, Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) conducted a Fact Finding Mission (FFM) to the eastern part [ Read more ]

(Kathmandu/Bangkok, 22 May 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) strongly condemns the arrest of human rights defenders. Md. Abdul Kaium, who works for FORUM-ASIA member organisation Odhikar, writer-lawyer Imtiaz Mahmud, and poet-journalist Henry Swapon under the Digital Security Act 2018. FORUM-ASIA firmly urges the Government to stop such harassment of [ Read more ]

(Kathmandu/Bangkok, 14 May 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) expresses grave concern over the Media Council Bill proposed by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MoCIT) on 10 May 2019. The Bill was registered in the Parliament of Nepal for further processing. FORUM-ASIA believes that the restrictive measures of [ Read more ]

We, the undersigned organisations, write with concern for the safety of refugees and asylum seekers in Sri Lanka in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks. Over 250 people were killed, and hundreds injured in the Easter Sunday attacks on April 21, 2019. We condemn these attacks and call upon the authorities in Sri Lanka [ Read more ]

    (Jakarta, 9 May 2019) – Ten years since its establishment, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) has yet to fully realise the expectations that civil society has of its functioning as a regional human rights mechanism. During the High Level Dialogue on Human Rights in ASEAN in Jakarta held on 9 [ Read more ]

Stop the Attacks against Human Rights Defenders, and Protect Civic Space in the Philippines (8 May 2019) – We, the undersigned organisations, strongly denounce the recent death threats addressed to Karapatan Secretary General, Cristina Palabay in the Philippines. These threats and the wider attacks against human rights defenders, journalists and civil society representatives signify the [ Read more ]

(Kathmandu/Bangkok, 25 April 2019) – Tuesday, 23 April 2019, marked two years since prominent human rights defender and writer, Yameen Rasheed, was brutally murdered in the Maldives. Two years on, no one has been held accountable for his killing. The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) remains deeply concerned by the continued impunity [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 29 March 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) urges Myanmar to end reprisals against journalists Kyaw Soe Oo and Wa Lone, for their investigations into what the United Nations has referred to as ‘gravest crimes under international law’ against Rohingya.[1] The journalists were convicted of violating Myanmar’s Official Secrets [ Read more ]